COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable Nouns (Count Nouns)

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens.

Here are some more countable nouns:

bird, cat, animal, man, person bottle, box, litre coin, note, dollar cup, plate, fork table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

My son is playing. My sons are hungry. I have got one egg. I have got two eggs.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

A cat is an animal. I’m waiting for a bus.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

I want an orange. (not I want orange.) Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

I like oranges. Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable and uncountable nouns:

Some is used in positive sentenceAny is used in negative and interrogative

sentences I've got some dollars. Have you got any pens?

Some people arrived. I bought some milk. Did you meet any friends in the city? I didn’t have any water.

Practice Complete the sentences with a, an, some or any.1.- Would you like …… cup of coffee?2.- There is ………. Butter in the fridge.3.- Can I make ……. telephone call?4.- There weren’t …………… in the house.

5.- There are …….. children at the door.6.- She wants ….. glass of water.7.- They don’t have ..... friends in the village.8.- I bought …… lemonade yesterday.9.- Have you got …..watch?10.- She’d like …… new perfume.11.- We’re getting …… new car soon.12.- There isn’t ...shampoo in the bathroom.13.- I’d like ….. apple , please.14.- The house hasn’t got …….furniture.15.- Would you like ……. orange juice.16.- I’ve got …… bananas and …… apple.17.- Did you bring ….. bread?18.- I’d like ….. water, please.19.- Sorry , I haven’t got ….. matches.20.- I asked the waiter for ….. Tea.

We can use a few and many with plural

countable nouns:

I've got a few dollars. I’ve got a few friends. I haven't got many pens. They haven’t got many friends.

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money. I haven't got much rice. I’ve got a little milk. We’haven’t got much time

Write a few, a little , much or many to complete these sentences . Don’t use some, any or a lot of.

1.- There’s some food but not …… drink.2.- ... people arrived before the party started , but not

many.3.- There’s not …….coffee in the cup.4.- She hasn’t got …… friends.5.- I’m sorry, I haven’t got ….. Time.6.- The receptionist didn’t give me ….. Information.7.- I can lend you …… money until tomorrow.8.- I asked him to put ……. milk in my coffee.9.- I’ve seen her ……. Times this year but not very often.10.- We only have …….. petrol left.11.- She started feeling ill only …….days before the exam.12.- Not…….. People come here in the winter.

13.- Did they pay you ……….. money for working there?14.- There aren’t …… towns in this part of Peru.15.- I didn’t drink …….wine at the party16.- There are only ……. people at the beach.17.- I didn’t have …… opportunity to talk to him.18.- The bank only lent me …… money.19.- Can I ask you …… questions?20.- The journey was a short one , it didn’t take ……. time.21.- Only …… students are going to fail the exam.22.- I don’t think ……… people will come tonight.23.- I haven’t done …….. work today.24.- I gave the cat ……. milk.25.- I don’t think I’ve made …….. mistakes.

A lot of – some / any – Much / Many – A few / A littleUnderline the correct item.

1.- Are you hungry? There is a little / a few roast beef left.2.- I can’t make a cake. We haven’t got much / any eggs.3.- There is a few / a lot of sugar in the cupboard.we don’t

need to buy any.4.- Can I have some / much milk for my coffee?5.- We need a few / much more peppers to make the dish.6.- We’ve got a lot of / a little bananas so you don’t have

to buy any. 7.- There isn’t many / much food left . We’ll have to go

shopping.8.- This restaurant offers a few / a little vegetarian dishes.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

There is one person here. There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns (Non Count Nouns) Uncountable nouns are substances,

concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself.

Here are some more uncountable nouns: music, art, love, happiness advice, information, news furniture, luggage rice, sugar, butter, water electricity, gas, power money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

a piece of news a bottle of water a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

I've got some money. Have you got any rice?

Countable Uncountable dollar money song music suitcase luggage table furniture battery electricity bottle mineral water report information tip advice journey travel job work view scenery

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Countable   Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

lightClose the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

noiseIt's difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)

paperI want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

Our house has seven rooms.

roomIs there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

timeHave you got time for a coffee?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

work I have no money. I need work! 

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):

Two teas and one coffee please.

HOW MANY OR HOW MUCH

______________ books are there on the desk? ______________ water is there in the glass? ______________ computers are there in the laboratory? ______________ mistakes are there in your exam? ______________ sugar is there on the floor? ______________triangles did you bring? ______________bones do we have? ______________students are there in the classroom? ______________credit cards do you have? ______________money did you ask?

ExercisesI.-UNDERLINE THE CORRECT WORD IN EACH

SENTENCE Are there a/any people at the bus station? Look at this shirt!. Can I borrow an/some iron? Did you buy a/some magazine? Could you buy a/some bread at the market? There arent any/some payphones near here She brings some/any balls to play You need some/any glue to fix that work We dont have any/some sandwiches left

XII PLACE ANY OR SOME IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES

There isn´t _______ money There aren´t _________ new clothes. There are __________ pencils. There aren´t _______ more apples. Threre is _______ milk on the table. There aren´t ____ curtains. There are ______ other options.

III.- There is / isn’t / There are / aren’t ___________ any jam in the fridge. ___________ a firefighter waiting outdoors ___________ eggs in the box. ___________ information in the newspaper. ___________ many English programmes installed . ___________ someone strange at the door. ___________ many holidays this year ___________ four cars in the house. (negative) ___________ milk in the bottle. ___________ a person in the house. ___________ water in the bottle. ___________ a letter on the table. ___________ 4 apples in the living room. (negative) ___________ some information in the computer. ___________ twelve months in a year. ___________ five chairs in the room.(negative)

_____________ a woman in the house _____________ any leaves on the tree _____________ some eggs in the barn _____________ a book on the shelf _____________ some books _____________ pretty children _____________ an old woman _____________ any interesting books left

Quiz1.- Put in a / an or some.1. I read.… book and listened to ….. music.2. I need ….. money . I want to buy … food.3. We met …interesting people at the party.4. I’m going to open …… window to get ….. fresh air.5. She didn’t eat much for lunch – anly …. apple and ……

bread.6. We live in ….. big house. There’s …… nice garden

with ……. beautiful trees.7. I’m going to make a table . First I need …… wood.8. Listen to me carefully . I’m going to give you ….advice.9. I want to write a letter . I need …… paper and ….. pen.10. I’d like to eat …….cookies.

1.- Circle the correct answer1.-I’d like some / any help.2.- There aren’t some / any letters for you.3.- Have you got some / any brothers or sisters?4.- She’s got some / any interesting friends.5.- Are there some / any restaurants near here?6.- I’m having some / any problems with my car.7.- I didn’t have some / any breakfast today.8.- We need some / any more milk.9.- he hasn’t done some / any work for ten years.10.- Do you know some / any Americans?

3.- Put in much or many

1.- She doesn’t speak …… English.2.- She doesn’t buy …… clothes.3.- I haven’t got …… time.4.- Do you play …… football?5.- There aren’t ….. people here.6.- Are there …… Americans in your company?7.- We don’t have ….. rain in Summer.8.- I don’t eat ……. meat.9.- Have you travelled to ….. countries.10.- We don’t go to ……… films.

Put in a little or a few.

1.- I know ……. English.2.- And I speak …….. words in English.3.- I’ll be on holiday in ……. days.4.- Can you give me ……. help?5.- Ann will be ready in ……. minutes .6.- Could I have ……. more coffee?7.- I’d like to ask you ….. questions.8.- I’m having ….. trouble with the police.9.- The soup needs …… more salt.10.- I’m going away for ……..weeks.

The Simple Present is often found with such words or expressions as:

always

often

sometimes

Once a week

never

usually

every day

twice a week

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Frequency tell us how often something happens.

These are : Always (100%) Usually (75%) Often ( 50%) Sometimes ( 25 %) Seldom (10%) Never (0%)

Adverbs of Frequency go before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs and the verb To-be .

Examples :

1.- We are never late for University.

2.- She always arrives late for work.

3.- She is usually early for University.

4.- Do you often go swimming?

5.- I don’t usually get up late on Sundays.

6.- I sometimes have lunch at the university.

7.- They never work on Sundays.

The adverbs often, usually, sometimes and occasionally can go at the beginning of a sentence.Sometimes I go swimming.Often we surf the internet.

Sometimes these adverbs are put at the end of the sentence.We read books occasionally.

The adverbs rarely and seldom can go at the end of the sentence.He eats fish very seldom.

The position of adverbs in sentences We can put adverbs in different positions in sentences.

There are three main positions but also a lot of exceptions.

In English we never put an adverb between the verb and the object.

We often play handball. - CORRECT We play often handball. - WRONG

The three main positions of adverbs in English sentences

1) Adverb at the beginning of a sentence Unfortunately, we could not see Mount Snowdon. 2) Adverb in the middle of a sentence The children often ride their bikes. 3) Adverb at the end of a sentence Andy reads a comic every afternoon.

Prepositions on Time We use Prepositions on time to say when

something happens. We use at with:

The Time : at 6 o’clock., at 7 : 30 , etc.

Holidays : at Christmas, at the weekend.

The expressions : at night, at noon , at midday, at midnight.

We use on with :

days : on Monday ; on Tuesday, on weekdays.

Dates : on 10th July, etc.

We use in with :

Months : in April, in May,etc.

Seasons: in the winter, in the Spring, etc.

years : in 2000, in 1989, etc.

The expressions : in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.

Adverbs of Frequency Rewrite the sentences and put the adverbs in

correctly.1.- I have been to London. (often) → 2.- Have you been to Boston? (ever) → 3.- He plays golf on Sundays. (sometimes) → 4.- The weather is bad in November. (always) → 5.- It rains in California. (never) → 6.- We have fish for dinner. (seldom) → 7.- She will see him. (rarely) → 8.- Peter doesn't get up before seven. (usually) → 9.- They do not play tennis on Sundays. (always) → 10.- Mary watches TV. (hardly / ever) →

Exercises.Put the words in order to make sentences

1.- never / early / to bed /Chris / on Fridays/ goes2.-at /the gym/ Mary / goes /noon / sometimes / to 3.- in / eat / Ben and Jane/ a /restaurant / seldom4.- at / Carol / always / work / finishes/ 5 pm 5.- go / usually / we / on /dancing /Saturdays6.- with / often / he / his/ / goes /on/ friends /picnics7.- for / work / They / late / never / are8.- in / cold / It / often / is / March

Make true sentences about yourself using The Adverbs of Frequency

1.- work on Saturdays

2.-make my bed

3.- go to the cinema

4.- cook dinner

5.- eat in restaurants

6.- travel by plane

7.-watch thrillers

8.- study subjects

9.- be late for English class.

10.- clean my room